WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State led 'til deep in the fourth quarter, but Mass Maritime turned the tides late to pull out a 20-9 win over Westfield State in a MASCAC football game at Buzzards' Bay, Mass. on Saturday afternoon.
Westfield took a 6-0 lead in the second quarter on a 26-yard touchdown run from Jordan Smith, and took that lead into the half. The Owls added a 39-yard field goal from Evan Milstead to boost the lead to 9-0 at the 11:40 mark of the third quarter.
From there, the tide would turn the the Buccaneers way. MMA got a Demetri Boozer interception of a Gabriel Fernandez pass to set the Bucs up with a short field at the Westfield 43, and seven plays later Ja'iel Johnson scored on a 10-yard TD toss from Mark Murphy, and the extra-point kick trimmed Westfield's lead to 9-7 with 2:12 left in the third quarter.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Westfield State turned the Buccaneers over on downs at the Buc 29-yard line, but the Owls' drive stalled at the Buc 23-yard line, and on fourth and four facing the Cape Cod Canal, the Owls opted to try to convert fourth down rather than try another Milstead field goal into the coastal winds. Maritime used a pair of time outs on the Owls drive to try to preserve time for a late rally, and Westfield's pass was incomplete on fourth down, keeping the hatch open for the Buccaneers.
Two long completions fueled the next drive for Maritime, with Murphy firing a 32-yard bomb to James Cassidy for a go-ahead touchdown with 3:18 left in the game. The 2-point try was stymied by the Owls.
Westfield had the ball back with a last chance to go ahead, but the offense stalled. Fernandez was sacked on second down and knocked from the game, and Mark McLaughlin was pressed into duty for a pair of desperation plays on 3rd- and 4th -and-20.
Maritime tacked on a late score for the final 20-9 margin.
Maritime outgained Westfield 253-186, but the Owls were bolstered by recovering three Mass Maritime fumbles.
Smith rushed 52 yards on 15 carries. Kordell Parrish was the Owls top receiver with one catch for 37 yards. Defensively, Cullen MacNeil and Peter Spinale led Westfield with seven tackles each, McNeil added three for losses, and Spinale getting 2.5 TFL's and recovered a fumble.
Johnson rushed for 80 yards and onbe score for MMA. Murphy finished 11-21 for 161 yards and 2 TD's.
Westfield sinks to 0-5, 0-3 MASCAC with the loss, while the Buccaneers are now 2-2, 2-0 MASCAC.
Westfield State has its bye week next week, before traveling to UMass-Dartmouth on October 15.